


Any Other Day

by maipigen



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Do not COPY to other sites!, Drama, F/M, Humor, I'll get to it., Old work so very much in need of a rewrite, Originally posted on fanfic net, This Work is MINE, again old work, cliches, eventually, so many
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25844602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maipigen/pseuds/maipigen
Summary: "Lorelai," Luke hissed, "come on don't do this to me – to us!" The sound of sirens drew nearer and Luke vaguely heard someone say they'd called the ambulance and then concentrated on the still woman in front of him. "Gilmore, please; open your eyes..."
Relationships: Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore
Comments: 13
Kudos: 20





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> This is a really old story of mine and so far the only GG fic I've ever written. I adore this fandom and wish the movie sequel hadn't crushed most of my hopes for my beloved couple, but thank God for Fanfic, am I right?   
> Anyway, as stated, old work and although I try to reread each chapter before posting, I still cringe at some of the wording and the overall unoriginality of it all, but it's still dear to my heart and hope it'll bring some happiness to you reading as well.   
> Feel free to calm my nerves by giving a kudos or even a comment :D   
> Have a great day and stay safe in this crazy time we're living in!

_Betaed by Smashmo_

**0o0o0**

**Intro**

The day Stars Hollow seemed to lose some of its sparkle started out like any other day. The sun was shining and lit up the entire town that, more than anything, resembled a fairytale. It was the same as always, really.

The town's self-proclaimed leader, Taylor Doose, was berating his employees outside his ice cream shoppe, keeping an observant eye on his market located not too far away. At the same time, the town's biggest gossip, Miss Patty, was busy preparing her tiny ballerinas for yet another local festival out on the lawn in front of Luke's Diner.

Luke Danes himself was deeply consumed with yelling at his customers, ranting about their disgusting eating habits. He shouted at his pain in the ass, but nonetheless friend, Kirk, to get the hell away from the donuts. Because no matter what Kirk thought about it, it really wasn't eat two donuts and get the third one for free if no one saw it disappear.

Luke's girlfriend of a few weeks, Lorelai Gilmore, sat at the counter with her usual cup of coffee and was following her boyfriend's movements with eager blue eyes. The look in her eyes promised mischief in the making.

Next to her, Lorelai's only child, Rory, was sitting – also holding on to a cup of coffee while her own smile was gracing her delicate features.

"Do you think we should stop him from actually ripping Kirk in half? It can't be good for his blood pressure." Rory asked before taking a small sip of the steaming hot java that neither of the Gilmores could live without.

They listened keenly to Luke's threats that rang out loudly in the diner. He was too busy to keep an eye on his captive audience.

Lorelai widened her cerulean eyes when Rory spoke. She didn't even look at her daughter as her gaze swung from Luke to Kirk as though she was enjoying a fierce tennis match; just waiting for one of the players to smash their racket – so to speak.

"Oh sweet child of mine; the only fruit of my voluptuous loins; are you not seeing what I'm seeing?" Lorelai nodded dramatically at the two men. "Annoying Kirk equals angry Luke and that means preoccupied Luke, who's more importantly not watching the coffee."

Rory's blue eyes, so like her mother's, widened in comprehension and she said in a stage whisper, "Free java."

A few moments later, the youngest Gilmore watched in awe as her mom emptied her cup before stealthily walking by Luke, nodding her head in feigned agreement to his complaints over the still aggravating Kirk. She grabbed the coffee pot, pouring them both a fresh cup as she muttered, "You tell him Luke," Mission completed, Lorelai swiftly returned to her seat next to Rory, beaming proudly at her success and waiting for the well deserved praise.

Rory stared at her mother with a big smile on her delicate face and Lorelai lifted her chin in acknowledgement of the silent admiration. "Thanks, I know I'm flawless, but I couldn't have done it without my trusty sidekick." She gestured to the unnoticing Luke and Rory giggled at her mother’s antics.

Finally, a couple of minutes later, Luke was wrapping up his third rant of the admittedly still early day and came over to the Gilmores with his usual notepad out.

Luke glanced briefly at the two women before going back to the notepad and he asked without looking at them. "If you're done stealing my coffee and ruining your already declining health, what can I get you two?"

Lorelai puckered her lips in response and said. "How 'bout a little sugar for momma?" She expertly ignored Rory's teasing gag next to her. Luke frowned and looked around the half empty diner, but all three of them knew he couldn't deny his girlfriend anything and soon after, he quickly bent forward planting a very chaste kiss on Lorelai's still pouting lips.

"Hmm, is that all the sugar you could spare today? Really? You should restock, in my expert opinion." Lorelai asked him and then added teasingly while cocking her head flirtatiously.

In response Luke deadpanned her mockery like he always did. "Too much sugar is bad for you…"

Rory laughed gently at the couple's behavior, which some people might just call foreplay. When Lorelai didn't react, but kept gazing adoringly up at her boyfriend, Rory rolled her eyes before pulling her mother to her feet saying, "as much as I love to watch the two of you kill my innocence, I've really gotta get going. Mom- remember, you said you'd walk me out to my car?"

Lorelai sighed dramatically and took one last swig of her beloved coffee. "There's just no rest for the wicked, I guess." She took hold of Rory's arm and as they exited the Diner she turned around and said in an artificial seducing voice. "And you Mister, you’d better save up some sugar for tonight." She made a feline growl in the back of her throat which solicited a rare public smile from her surly boyfriend.

Luke shook his head as he watched the two women in his life that he loved more than anything, leave his diner. Kirk suddenly appeared right in front of him and held forth a handbag that Luke immediately recognized as Lorelai's and said, "My girlfriend likes handbags. If this isn't yours, can I have it…for my girlfriend Lulu? Who's really into handbags."

Luke gave his token snarl, ripped the handbag from Kirk and quickly ran after his own girlfriend. He knew that he'd never hear the end of it if she was to face the day without it and all its hidden snacks and knickknacks.

"Lorelai," he yelled when he saw the Gilmores further up the road, near the one and only stoplight that Taylor once upon a time had put up without the town's support. She didn't hear him. It looked like she was eagerly telling a story to the person on the other end of her cell phone as she continued to walk away from him.

Rory however _did_ hear him and stopped to turn around with a smile on her face.

To Luke, the rest happened as if in slow motion.

Rory's half turned body prevented her from seeing the truck that came racing uncharacteristically fast towards her from behind.

Lorelai, who was still on the phone, looked up just then and saw the truck. She seemed to know what Luke already knew; that the truck was too fast and Rory didn't stand a chance. Then the eldest Gilmore did what any loving parent would have done. She immediately threw her phone to the ground and shoved her daughter out of harm's way and took the hit herself.

Luke was already running, desperately trying to reach his lover before she was slammed into the pavement. But he knew he'd be too late no matter how fast he ran.

Rory stood paralyzed a few feet away from the scene, numbly gazing upon her mother's unmoving body. Luke finally reached them and pushed Taylor out of his way when the so called leader of their town had tried to get a closer look and fell down beside the now fiercely bleeding Lorelai.

"Lorelai," Luke hissed, "come on! Don't do this to me – to _us_!" The sound of sirens drew nearer and Luke vaguely heard someone say they'd called the ambulance before he concentrated on the motionless woman in front of him. "Lorelai, please; open your eyes and tell us all to stop staring. Come on!"

But for the first time since Lorelai Gilmore had walked into his life all those years ago, she didn't have a snappy comeback and remained silent.

**0o0o0**

**_TBC_ …**


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop, dual update... 
> 
> Anyway, unoriginality galore yet again, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

**Chapter One**

" _Lorelai, wait up!" The yell from behind was obviously not heard by her mother and Rory turned around looking bemusedly at Luke, who was running wildly toward her. In the next second his face paled and his eyes widened, but before she could understand what was going on, she felt a hard shove in her shoulders and heard her mother's voice, "Rory watch out!"_

_The unmoving body had her transfixed as people crowded around them. Luke's terrified voice rang through her body like an electric shock. Then came the horrified realization that she, Rory Gilmore, had probably killed her mom._

With a soft gasp, Rory blinked out of the memory that was now playing on repeat in her mind. She was standing in the waiting room of the hospital with her mother's cell phone in her hand. She didn't even remember that their neighbor, Babette, had picked it up from the ground and placed it in her trembling hands just before Luke had pulled her into the awaiting ambulance with him.

It was one of her mom's most prized possessions, so of course she'd have to keep it safe until her mom came out of the operating room and demanded it back with her usual teasing comments. Of course.

 _Of course;_ the internal reassurance was more of a mantra in Rory's mind now. It was keeping her from falling apart as they waited in silence, scared out of their minds.

They'd arrived about three hours earlier and neither she nor Luke had moved from their spots since. Rory glanced over at the nearby vending machine where Luke stood, glaring at the coffee button as though coffee was responsible for everything. _It's not the coffee's fault_ ," Rory thought hazily, _it's mine. He should be glaring at_ me.

Rory could still feel her mother's hands on her shoulders, roughly shoving her out of the way and then that eerie sound of metal hitting flesh, followed by the loud deafening sound of a head hitting the ground hard. Rory choked down a sob and blinked her eyes wildly until she'd vanquished the need to cry – at least for another little while.

 _She always said that she'd do anything for me_ , Rory told herself and then couldn't suppress a smile as she heard the words her mom had said during one of their recent movie nights.

" _I'll do anything for ya doll...well, except blow your nose, 'cause that's just gross and I'm thrilled that you grew out of that, let's be honest here. Aww; don't look at me that way hon, that's more than my mom would ever do for me."_

Rory grinned softly at the mental picture of her grandmother standing on the sideline directing one of her numerous maids in the art of nose blowing. A second later, Rory started and nearly dropped the afore mentioned cell phone from her hand.

 _Emily! Richard!_ Her grandparents didn't know yet! And for the first time since her arrival, Rory moved. She walked over to the still frozen Luke, who flinched when she interrupted his ongoing staring competition with the vending machine.

"Luke, I have to call my grandparents, I'll be right over by the payphones. Will you come get me if…if I'm needed?"

Luke nodded mutely and gently squeezed her shoulder in silent comfort before returning to his own thoughts. He still hadn't said a word to her.

 _Maybe he_ does _blame me...I deserve that,_ Rory thought sadly, but then shook off the gloomy thoughts. _I've gotta call Grandma and Grandpa - they need to know - especially since she might not..._ again the young brunette squashed her line of thought and turned away to find an available phone. It never even occurred to the youngest Gilmore to use her mother's cell phone. It wasn't hers after all.

A few moments later, Rory had dialed the number to her grandparents and was waiting reluctantly for someone to pick up.

"Gilmore residence? Who may I say is calling?" Rory didn't know the voice and assumed it to be one of Emily's ever changing maids and said, "This is Rory Gilmore, may I speak to Emily Gilmore, please?"

The maid asked her to hold and within seconds Emily's distinctive voice sounded, her voice tinged with irritation, "This is Emily Gilmore speaking, hello? The annoying girl didn't tell me who's on the line. It's hard to find decent help these days."

A suffering sigh was heard and then Emily seemed to remember her manners.

"Whom may I ask is calling?"

Rory took a deep breath and tried to speak normally, but the sound of her grandmother finally thawed a bit of the ice in Rory's shocked heart and she couldn't suppress a dry sob.

"Hello? Who _is_ this?" Emily's voice sounded even more demanding than usual and Rory managed to choke out, "Grandma…It's Rory…I..."

Emily's voice immediately lost its edge and the older woman asked with real concern, "Rory, what's wrong? Why are you calling at this hour? Shouldn't you be at Yale? If your mother has used one more of her silly shenanigans to force you to stay in Stars Hollow, I promise you it will be brought up at our next Friday night dinner."

Rory felt her knees give out from under her and she was slowly sinking down into a nearby chair. The normal annoyance from her grandmother was breaking her heart, because Rory knew that when she finally revealed the truth, Emily would never be the same. Eventually Rory took a deep, shuddering breath. She interrupted Emily, who was now in full rant.

"It's Mom…There's been an accident… Grandma…I don't…she might not…"

Rory heard Emily gasp loudly in the receiver and then there was a crashing sound and she knew her grandmother had dropped the phone in shock. In the background she heard a muffled cry of, "Richard," then there were hurried footsteps and a crunching noise as the phone was picked up again.

"Hello, Rory?" The deep voice from her grandfather, Richard, was heard and Rory felt her eyes begin to burn even more at the familiar sound. "Your grandmother said something about Lorelai, but I can't understand her. Please tell me where you are?"

Rory managed to choke out the information and after a brief, yet heavy pause, Richard spoke. His voice more meek and weak than she'd ever heard it before. "We're on our way; don't go anywhere." Then he ended the call without further notice.

 _Where would I go at a time like this_? _Everyone I know is at school or at work…"_ Rory giggled briefly, blinking her tears away. No, she wouldn't cry because her mom was gonna be all right, so there was no _need_ for tears.

"Rory! Oh sweetheart!"

Suddenly, her grandparents were standing in front of her.

Emily, who was looking uncharacteristically puffy-eyed and tearstained, engulfed her granddaughter in a tight embrace that nobody thought she knew how to make.

Richard looked deathly pale, but more like himself than his wife did as he patted his beloved grandchild gently on her head.

Rory couldn't believe it, how long had she sat there? The call had just ended, hadn't it?

**0o0o0**

Luke still stood over at the vending machine and stared blindly down at the black button that would give him a cup of coffee if he pressed it. He knew it was stupid to think about buying a cup of coffee. _It's not like she can drink it right now,_ he thought slowly, wanting to kick the machinery to pieces because of that fact.

He blinked and even that was done slowly.

Ever since that damned vehicle had slammed into Lorelai and he'd been forced to watch her fall to the ground in slow-motion, everything seemed to move in a less than normal pace.

 _If I lose her now,_ Luke thought to himself clenching his fists painfully, trying not to punch the wall in his frustration, _after all those years wasted_ …

He was disrupted from his miserable thoughts a moment later, when another man gently touched his shoulder and asked politely, "if you don't mind, I'd like to use the machine. It'll only take a minute, I promise."

The plump-looking man smiled broadly when Luke mutely stepped aside. He quickly pressed the coffee button that Luke had tried to incinerate with his eyes these last few hours and announced happily, "my wife just gave birth to our third child, a beautiful little boy and she immediately demanded that I go buy her a cup of coffee."

The man chuckled as he reached for the steaming cup from the machine, "I don't know why she always does that…She's not allowed to drink it yet and she knows it. She always says that she just wants to smell the coffee, like it's got a soothing influence on her or something; unlike all the rest of us mere mortals, who get's jumpy as heck." The stranger turned to smile indulgently up at Luke. "What we men do for the weird women we love, right?"

The man's smile faltered a bit when his eyes met Luke's. Finally, it seemed to dawn on him that not everyone in a waiting room at a hospital was actually waiting for good news like he'd been. The new father shuffled his feet awkwardly because judging by the dead look in the taller man's gaze, good news was a foreign concept right then, and especially other people's good news seemed to be unwelcome.

Luke eventually managed to force out a polite nod and speak, albeit hoarsely, "I know…Weird women and their customs are... Well, congratulations."

The other man quickly returned the nod and hastily went back to his own family where there weren't people looking like their world had just ended.

"Luke?"

The Diner owner looked down and met Rory's eyes. Then he averted his own; those sky blue eyes were too much like Lorelai's and he just couldn't handle that until he knew whether or not she'd pull through. Whether he'd see them in his girlfriend's face and not her daughter.

"Yeah?" he asked as his eyes landed on the forms of Lorelai's parents, who looked just as shell shocked as he felt at that moment; like he'd been ever since that detestable vehicle had ruined everything.

Emily Gilmore looked, well, scruffy actually. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that she'd been crying ever since she'd found out about her daughter's condition and the tight grip she had on Rory's thin shoulder told Luke that at the moment, she was leaning heavily on her granddaughter's silent strength. Richard looked like Luke felt; pale, tired and unbelievably numb. Such a thing just didn't happen in their circles. So simply put, Lorelai's parents were devastated.

 _It's understandable really_ , Luke told himself inwardly _, she's their only child after all. They're not uncaring… I told you Lorelai, they love you and you have to wake up so you can see it._ Luke suddenly had to swallow a smile at his next thought, _and try your hardest to annoy them for showing it in public._

He was pulled from his one sided internal conversation by Rory's timid voice. "Did…have the doctors been here yet?"

Luke sighed and scratched his neck feeling uncomfortable as he answered tiredly, "No, not yet, Rory. I'm sorry."

Before Rory could reply, a firm shove in the side pushed him abruptly into the vending machine with a thud. The only thing Luke managed to register in his surprise was a blonde blur that was moving with determination towards Rory, who was frozen in surprise.

"Rory! I just found out! I called your cell phone but you didn't pick up. Then I called your mom's house and some lady with a hoarse voice, calling herself Babette, told me everything!"

The blond hurricane grabbed hold of Rory, squeezing her half to death, while she continued her explanations. "I'm here for _you_! I hope those doctors are doing their best or else I might have to talk to them! I got a lot of experience from that time with Asher, you know and let me just tell you that although they're medically trained, _none_ of them know anything worthwhile about a properly fluffed pillow and the beverages available here are just awful and don't even get me started on…"

Luke straightened up from his ungraceful near fall. He finally recognized the girl as Paris, Rory's roommate from Yale. He couldn't help but remember Lorelai's words from a while back as he silently watched how Paris did not give Rory a chance to talk.

" _T_ _hat girl can make even Satan cower and pray for a sick day…Trust me on that."_

A few minutes later, Luke met Rory's gaze for longer than a second as the blonde continued to talk and belittle the entire health care system in a matter of mere moments, completely unaware of the four devastated people in her presence. He sent her a small smile, trying to comfort her without actually saying anything. To his surprise, Rory briefly looked incredibly relived, like his smiling at her had assured her of something. Then the look was gone and she returned the smile with a brittle one of her own.

If anyone could make them feel less sorry for themselves while they waited for news, it would be Paris Gellar; which was a good thing because just as Paris took a breath and paused in her one-way conversation, a serious looking doctor suddenly appeared by their side. He looked them all over, stopping momentarily when he looked at Paris. Apparently, he too remembered her last visit to the hospital, and then calmly asked, "Are you the family of Lorelai Gilmore?"

**0o0o0**

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family is waiting for news, while Stars Hollow is told of what happened...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all.  
> Remember this story is over ten years old and thus probably a bit cringe worthy at times. I can see my english ability has sky rocketed since then and thus have tried to catch the errors my erstwhile Beta Smashmo didn't way back then, but I'm nowhere near perfect.   
> Also, whoopsie daisy do I tend to use run on sentences...  
> Anyway, also remember that I'm no doctor so certain things may not make any real sense, but since this story is basically one big unoriginal trope, I suspect those of you reading won't care.  
> Please enjoy!

** Big smooches to Smashmo for helping me out, she's really an angel in disguise, who never loses patience with my errors.  ** ** Thank ** ** you ** **! **

**Chapter Two**

The talented and somewhat crazed chef, Sookie St. James, was running around frantically in her beloved kitchen at the Dragonfly Inn. She was busy making some chocolate and vanilla éclairs, that were extraordinary, if she did say so herself. The kitchen help was also running around, although with a lot more grace. They routinely put out small fires in pans and removed hand towels from the stoves; something that Sookie was not known to care about or even notice. All she cared about was making the small miracles that other people called meals.

It was in the middle of the breakfast rush and Sookie was in the process of checking on some of the specially ordered scones she'd made for an English guest, who simply _loved_ them beyond words. Not that she could blame him, because really, they were made by her.

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen burst open and Michel was ungracefully stumbling inside, making Sookie pay attention, Michel was _never_ without a certain amount of elegance.

"What's up Michel? If you're gonna complain about the married seniors in room twelve and their spoiled grandchild one more time, I'm telling Lorelai on you."

Michel didn't quip as he normally did and Sookie looked up from the oven with trepidation growing in her chest.

"What's wrong?"

The Frenchman swallowed, looking pale under his darkened skin. "I just got a call from that woman that Lorelai lives next to. She-" Michel broke off, looking oddly uncomfortable. More so than usual whenever he experienced human emotions.

" _What_?" Sookie demanded again, not moving an inch from the scorching oven. "What did she say?"

Finally, Michel seemed to regain some courage and he straightened up. He looked Sookie straight in the eye and spoke words that the bubbly chef wasn't prepared to hear.

"Lorelai has been in an accident; it is serious."

The kitchen resounded with a deafening bang as the plate of scones fell unceremoniously to the tiled floor. Sookie didn't notice; she was already on her way outside to her car, _terrified_ that she might just lose her best friend. _I better call Jackson and see if anyone else is planning on going to the hospital…_

**0o0o0**

In the meantime, at the hospital, Rory felt her body stiffen when she locked eyes with the serious-looking doctor. _A serious doctor_ … _this can't be good_ , she thought, gnawing nervously on her bottom lip. _Please don't be dead Mom; I can't live without you…_

An insane urge to giggle erupted inside her, when, after Rory rethought her statement, her mother's teasing voice flew into her mind soothingly, " _Y_ _ou can't live without me? Corny, Hon. Now coffee and junk food_ those _things are what you can't live without…Uh and reruns of eighties shows of course."_

"Rory?"

Rory flinched and looked up and met her grandfather's concerned face. He looked as though he'd already spoken her name quite a few times.

"Huh?" she managed to stutter and Richard reached out, placing his hand on the shoulder that her grandmother hadn't already taken ownership of. "The doctor wants to tell us about your mother, Rory."

His voice and the gentle touch he used reminded Rory of one of the times she and her mom had watched Animal planet and seen how the handlers had tried to calm a wounded animal. _Is that what I am right about now?_ She wondered dazed and weary, but then she realized that she'd once again drifted off from reality.

Rory blinked and tried her damndest to concentrate on the still waiting doctor's words.

"Miss Gilmore was brought in with several broken ribs; one of which punctured her lung, which we had to repair the damages to. Her right leg is broken in three places and there might be permanent damages, we really can't say until she begins her physical therapy." The doctor hesitated, glancing briefly over at Paris. It was obvious that he really didn't want to be the bearer of bad news in front of the blonde he'd never forgotten. Eventually though, he spoke again. "All those injuries are in fact the minor ones. The thing that has us most worried right now is her head trauma. She suffered a great blow to the head and although we've done everything in our power as of now, I have to inform you that Miss Gilmore has slipped into a coma and there's nothing left to do but wait and see if she wakes up on her own…"

Emily let out a gasp hearing this and tightened her already iron grip on Rory's thin shoulder. It would most definitely bruise, but Rory didn't mind, knowing that her grandmother didn't know what she was doing. Besides, she surmised, the pain kept her from screaming out her own fears.

**0o0o0**

_Coma…_

Luke crossed his arms to keep them from banging his fists furiously into the nearest wall. _Don't do this to me, Lorelai!_

Comas were a Big Deal; people didn't always pull back from them and the thought of Lorelai Gilmore not waking up and declaring everything fine and dandy almost broke Luke as he kept his jaw clenched. Trying to keep himself in check wasn't working well and he couldn't help but send a vicious glare towards the still talking doctor.

The doctor didn't even blink at the death glare pointed in his direction. He just offered his regrets of being the bearer of bad news. He glanced at Luke with the words, " _don't kill the messenger_ ," in his eyes and said, "The surgeons are not entirely finished with her as of now, but I'll let you know when it's okay to go see her." He nodded briefly to them all, ignoring Paris, and walked away without another word.

After a few moments of silence, Paris apparently thought that enough contemplating had been done and she straightened herself up, sending an arrogant look the doctor's way. "Well, _that_ wasn't very fulfilling, now was it?" Without waiting for anyone to answer she barreled on. "He obviously doesn't know everything about this case. Mrs. Gilmore, would you please join me while I locate a doctor, who's actually a human being with some semblance of knowledge?"

Emily startled out of her thoughts and looked at the blonde girl at her side. Before she had a chance to respond however, Paris had the audacity to grab hold of her free arm and actually _yank_ her away from the unmoving Rory and pulling Emily with her. As the couple disappeared down the nearest hallway, Rory, Luke and Richard heard Paris's disembodied voice say, "…need you with me here. I'm not a Gilmore, so they'll probably not listen to me and from what I know of _you_ Emily, you're not afraid to give it to them straight if needed. Isn't that right? I respect that."

Luke wanted to smile at the thought of the much older and very terrifying Emily Gilmore being bossed around by her grandchild's one of a kind friend, but his features didn't want to cooperate. They couldn't. He sighed and looked down at Rory.

She hadn't moved an inch since the doctor's news had been given. The look in her eyes was dull and broken. _I'm not the only one, who won't recover from this if Lorelai doesn't wake up_ , Luke realized with an inwardly grimace and for the first time since the accident he felt a bit more like himself.

Pushing his own grief and pain into the background for the moment, Luke did what he knew he should have done from the start. He stepped forward and wrapped his big arms around the much smaller frame.

"No, Luke…Please…"He heard her whisper in a pained moan and for a minute she desperately tried to free herself from his grip. Then she suddenly slumped and finally allowed herself to break down.

The warm tears quickly soaked Luke's flannel shirt, and within moments, Rory practically wailed with sorrow into his chest.

"Rory, she's strong; so much stronger than the rest of us." Luke muttered repeatedly and sent a warning look to Richard, when he seemed to want to take Rory from Luke's arms. "Let it out Rory, don't hold it in…It's all gonna be all right soon. You'll see."

After a long while, Rory seemed to slow her crying, but she tightened her death grip on Luke's waist when he gently tried to let her go. With a soft sigh, he wrapped his arm under her knees and lifted her up into his arms and sat down on a chair with the now exhausted girl in his arms.

They didn't say a word; they just bathed in each other's shared feelings of sadness and fear. And most of all, desperate hope.

Sometime later, they moved to sit next to each other. Rory was resting her head on his shoulder and Luke held his large hands over hers in his lap in a show of silent comfort.

Richard sat close by with Emily in the exact same position. Paris wasn't there at the moment. Not because she didn't want to, but Emily had appeared a half an hour earlier and had declared that Miss Gellar had been asked to leave the premises. Apparently, death threats at the nurses' station wouldn't be allowed unless the one making them was actually related to an injured patient.

All four of them waited for the doctor to return and grant them permission to see Lorelai.

The sound of approaching footsteps – a lot of them – made Luke look up and he instantly tensed. Rory lifted her head tiredly and her eyes widened with disbelief when she followed his gaze.

It seemed that half of Stars Hollow had gotten impatient waiting for an update on their favorite speedy talker.

Sookie, Jackson, Lane, Miss Patty, Babette, Morey, Kirk and Lulu nearly suffocated them with loud and frantic questions about Lorelai's situation.

Luke felt the familiar throbbing in his right temple begin and prepared himself for a growling reprimand towards the townspeople, forcing them to understand that they weren't helping things.

But before he got a chance, Rory beat him to it.

Suddenly, she jumped to her feet yelling hoarsely, "please be quiet! And sit down and wait patiently like the rest of us! _Now_!"

None of the Stars Hollow residents were used to that tone coming from their gentle brainiac and some shot Luke an accusing glare, as though telling him that letting his behavior rub off on Rory _wasn't_ appreciated.

 _Lorelai wake up now or else some of your friends will join you in the immediate future_ , Luke threatened inwardly and leaned back stiffly, once again crossing his arms to prevent them from doing something not entirely permitted.

After a few minutes of silence, Miss Patty and Babette began whispering fiercely among themselves and Kirk was somehow already deeply involved with the vending machine as he tried to pry out a soda without actually paying for it. Jackson was talking quietly with Morey and Lulu. Lane had placed herself on Rory's other side and oozed support without actually saying a word. Sookie was sitting next to Luke and tears were falling down her face silently. She hadn't said a word after being told of Lorelai's status.

Luke noticed Sookie's hands twitching and he knew she was itching for something to do. Finally, it seemed she couldn't take it anymore and she turned to Emily and Richard with a somewhat wild glint in her eyes.

"Are you hungry? I mean cafeteria food is never a good thing. I should go make something from scratch; can't have you dropping dead from starvation, right? I mean…I think I have some things at home I could turn into a feast…Yeah…then if… _when._ I mean when Lorelai wakes up, she won't have to eat that filth from the hospital kitchen… she'll probably just demand to get put back to sleep…Yeah, I'll just…Jackson!"

The vegetable and fruit seller instantly rose to his feet and after having patted Rory and Luke on the arm he followed his wife with a concerned frown marring his usually so cheerful features.

Rory felt suffocated in all the company around her and rose from the chair. Lane and Luke immediately copied her and she turned around with a small reassuring smile. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom; I'll be right back."

Luke, she noticed, knew she was lying. He recognized her need to solitude and respected it by sitting back down and gently pushing Lane down as well when she looked like she might just follow Rory. The look in his blue-grey eyes told Rory that he felt the need too, but allowed her to slip away first.

 _Thank you Luke_ , _you're always letting my needs come before yours,_ Rory thought out to the diner owner and quickly left the crowded waiting room.

**0o0o0**

Ten minutes later, Rory still hadn't returned and Luke was just about to go look for her, when the doctor from earlier came into view. Luke quickly scrambled to his feet and out of the corner of his eyes he saw Emily and Richard do the same, albeit with a little more elegance.

"Is she all right? Has she woken up? Can we see her?" the questions left his lips without a second thought.

The doctor smiled comfortingly and explained, "Sadly, Miss Gilmore is still in a coma, but the surgery seems to have gone well and we have every reason to believe she'll recover from her injuries; all she has to do now is wake up."

Luke nodded and Emily repeated his earlier question hesitantly. Her usual icy façade had totally crumbled during the last few hours, "Can we see her now, please?"

The doctor's eyes swept across the room and noticed the increased population with a raised brow and answered, "Only the nearest family is allowed in at the moment. Please try to limit your visits today." He smiled with a friendly look in his eyes, "after all, she's been through quite an ordeal. A nurse will come to take you to her shortly."

They all nodded mutely and as the doctor left to continue his work, Rory finally reappeared. Luke watched silently as her entire body tensed seeing all of them standing. Richard apparently noticed too and quickly told her the doctor's news, which brought a relieved smile to her face.

A few minutes later, a tall, stern looking nurse soon joined them. Her eyes scanned the visitors, glaring threateningly at Kirk, who was still sitting by the vending machine looking extremely put out. Lulu protectively walked in front of her boyfriend, covering his shaking frame from the nurse's watchful eyes. Eventually, she returned to her job and looked them all over once more with boredom. "If the family members would follow me please…"

Without hesitation, Rory and her grandparents hurried after the nurse, but then Rory suddenly stopped. She turned around with searching eyes, noticing with surprise that Luke had reclaimed one of the uncomfortable waiting chairs. She glanced back at her grandparents, who had stopped the moment she had. "This will just take a second," Rory muttered and with determination she walked over to an unnoticing Luke, expertly ignoring the nurse's tapping foot in the background.

"Hey, aren't you coming?"

Luke looked up; he seemed genuinely surprised by her question and answered quietly, while fidgeting with his baseball cap in his hands. "It's just supposed to be the nearest family members, remember Rory?" He added when Rory looked argumentative. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I'll wait out here with the rest. Go on and see your mom and I'll drive you home afterwards…It's fine…"

Rory promptly startled the older man by simply punching him gently on the arm before holding out her hand for him to take. "If there's one person here, besides me, that my mom considers close family, it's _you_." Rory explained when Luke didn't immediately take her hand. "Don't be stupid and come with me to see your girlfriend."

The look in Luke's eyes warmed Rory to the core. He looked shy, happy, uncomfortable, hesitant and immensely grateful all at the same time. Then he blinked and his expression turned blank and he stood up, taking Rory's waiting hand and followed the rest of the close family. He even sent a matching glare to the temperamental and impatient nurse that reminded the older woman of her manners.

Not even Emily Gilmore uttered a word against his right to be by their side when he reached them.

** TBC… **


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke remembers their first meeting and tries not to fall apart.   
> And Lorelai wakes up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa so easy to forget how cliche this story really is until i'm rereading the chapters for posting lol - also my vocabulary has increased quite a bit since posting this over ten years ago the first time around but I'm still not immune to grammar issues and such so forgive me if I missed any major errors.   
> I hope that despite all this nonsense and lack of originality that you'll enjoy my little tale!

**Chapter Three**

“Hi, I heard from one of the other customer’s that your coffee is the best there is…So please give me a cup; the bigger the better please – it’s like my oxygen!”

Luke looked up from the receipts he was supposed to be looking over and saw a pretty brunette in front of him. Her smile lit up her face and Luke mentally growled. After everything that had happened over the last couple of days, smiling brunettes with a coffee fetish were _not_ someone he wanted to wait on…

 _Only her_.

But being the service-minded person that he was, Luke sighed, grabbed the coffeepot and took out a green mug, pouring the black liquid with a mute nod.

The stranger nodded her thanks mutely as well and reached for the sugar cubes and Luke released the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding.

 _She’s nothing like you, Lorelai_ , he thought to his absent girlfriend, knowing she’d launch into a ten minute rant at the thought of diluting her beloved beverage with sugar. _She didn’t cross my boundaries like you did…I miss you._

Luke quickly returned to his receipts and was unable to stop his mind as it dove into the cherished memory of his and Lorelai’s first meeting at this very diner.

_The door opened with a jingle and in walked a tall, beautiful brunette. Luke barely noticed her, too busy with other lunch customers that he was with at the time._

_The woman looked around with happy eyes and a beaming smile. As he placed a plate of food in front of Gypsy, the town's not so cheap mechanic, Luke reluctantly found his eyes following the woman. She looked around and met his eyes, and broke into another too bright smile. Luke swallowed hard. This woman affected him instantly and he cursed inwardly; he was with Rachel after all._

“ _Hi mister diner man!”_

 _The woman’s cheerful voice reached him and before he could even respond, she continued happily, “So, I just moved to this pretty little town and I saw this sign and I thought ‘Luke’s diner’, better check it out. And as if that wasn't enough, a nice lady, who was_ very _in to her ballerinas by the way, suggested that I go here because you have the bestest coffee in all the land.” Her smile transformed into a dramatic frown that did little to distract him from her beauty. “I'm telling ya; us meeting like this, right now is totally meant to be. It's Fate! So…give me, give me, give me please! I’m aching for some java!”_

_Luke quickly walked behind the counter, absentmindedly grabbing another set of plates from his sweating cook Caesar. “Just sit down and I’ll be with you as soon as I can,” he muttered and delivered the food to another couple of customers. He was very eager to get away from the stranger as his internal reminders about his actual girlfriend weren’t working quite as well as they usually did whenever he found his eyes following a pretty woman on the street._

_To his dismay the woman completely ignored his request, proceeding to follow him in his wake with a spring in her step and to make matters worse for the busy diner owner, she just wouldn’t keep quiet._

“ _Like I said, just moved to the town and so far, I’m loving it. There’s such a friendly vibe here – and one can’t go through life without friendly vibes you know.” She ignored the growing scowl on his face and continued, though not before breaching his very clearly defined need for space bubble and unceremoniously giving him a light pat on the shoulder, almost knocking another set of plates out of his unsuspecting hands. “Of course you know; you simply_ **ooze** _friendliness, my friend.”_

_The scowl turned nothing short of menacing, but the dangerous look on Luke’s face, the one that frequently stopped even Taylor from spouting all his crap, didn’t stop the brunette from her continuing rambling one bit._

_To his annoyance over the next half hour Luke learned without really wanting to, that the woman’s name was Lorelai, she had a kid, apparently a female version of Einstein without the hair problems. She more than liked coffee, she was glad that his diner seemed not to give people food poisoning seeing as with her cooking skills, she’d have to eat here often. She liked coffee, she was born in Hartford, her parents were the reincarnation of Hitler, well, mostly her mother, she really_ really _liked coffee and she thought his sweet little hat was adorable and finally Luke couldn’t take it anymore and snapped._

“ _What is wrong with you woman? You’re so annoying” he almost yelled, not caring that his other customers gaped up at him. “Have you escaped from a mental institution or are you sent here from my mortal enemies to drive me insane. Sit down and I’ll get to you when I get to you. Leave me alone or I swear you’ll suffer the consequences and…”_

“ _When’s your birthday?”_

_Luke gawked, much like his customers were doing at the woman’s pure audacity. Lorelai smiled and waited patiently while the man wrapped his head around her sudden question. Without really knowing how or why, he told her and then he tried to continue his rant._

_Again, Lorelai shocked him by not being the least bit scared of his bluntness. She simply turned around while he was mid-rant and grabbed a newspaper out of Kirk’s hands. As Kirk wailed and demanded his property back, Lorelai quickly scribbled something down on a page in the paper, tore it out and then gently placed the newspaper back in Kirk’s hands as she promised him a free cup of coffee after the stressful event. Kirk being Kirk immediately perked up at the thought of something free and ran to the counter and forced the poor, frenzied Caesar to give him a fresh cup of coffee despite the fact that the cook was obviously drowning in orders._

_A second later, Lorelai turned back to the frozen Luke and smiled. “Here,” she said and reached out her hand where the torn out paper still lay, “read this.”_

_The other customers fell silent as they followed his every move, making Luke’s glare intensify and he knew he’d never see the end of it if he didn’t comply. He could swear he’d seen Babette taking notes on a napkin for Miss Patty. “Fine,” he growled and saw to his surprise that it was a horoscope, a Scorpio horoscope to be exact;_ his _horoscope. She’d written something on the tiny paper and Luke almost snorted when he read it._

**“ _You’ll meet an annoying woman today; give her coffee and she’ll go away.”_**

_He looked up and met her incredible indigo blue eyes with a defeated sigh. “Come on then,” he muttered and went for the counter and the coffeepot behind it. He felt Lorelai trailing close behind, visibly eager for her caffeine shot and shook his head in disapproval._

_He took the biggest to-go cup he could find, filling it to the brim. “Here, satisfied?” he mock –growled and watched Lorelai take a sip of the warm beverage and then groan in pleasure._

“ _Miss Patty was right, best coffee I’ve ever had, mister!”_

_Luke swallowed a small smile and spoke while crossing his arms threateningly. “Well, yeah. I believe you still need to hold up your end of the bargain.” He gestured to the exit with a meaningful nod._

_Lorelai smiled again and turned to leave. Then she suddenly looked at him again, nodding at the paper still in his hands. “You should hold on to that, put it in your wallet, carry it around and one day it’ll bring you luck.”_

_Luke couldn’t stop his smile that time and said with a raised eyebrow, “is that so?”_

_Lorelai opened the door, letting another couple inside as she looked over her shoulder. “Yep, but then again, I’m known for saying anything for a cup of coffee…Bye Mr. Friendlyman.”_

_Luke watched her leave through the windows and without really wanting to; he took out his wallet and placed the scrap of paper in it with a sigh. There was just something about those blue eyes that told him that they’d meet again._

“Luke!”

Luke flinched and threw the memory into the back of his mind when Babette’s voice interrupted his trip down memory lane.

“What?”

The goodhearted gossiper had seen the usually so brooding male standing behind the counter clenching his receipts as if they were a lifeline. The look on his face told its clear story of him not having slept since Lorelai’s accident.

Babette sighed, wanting him to think of himself for a change. “Sugar, you need to go get some rest and not stand around here like a big hunk of sadness. Caesar and Lane can help you out down here.”

Five minutes later, Luke was somehow upstairs in his apartment and he sat immobile by his kitchen table. The memory of their first meeting had broken down some of Luke’s recent mind blocks and he couldn’t help but remember how he’d felt two days earlier when Rory had taken him to see her mother.

When he’d walked through those doors to see Lorelai, Luke’s heart thumbed uncontrollably and he felt his eyes mist up when his gaze landed on his girlfriend. Rory’s gasp and Emily’s sob made it all too clear to him that this whole day hadn’t been a stupid nightmare and that the frail looking person in the hospital bed was indeed Lorelai and not a figment of his morbid imagination as he’d half-convinced himself it was.

Lorelai looked like she was sleeping. Her right leg was elevated and clad in a cast and her face looked nothing like they’d ever seen before. It was bruised and swollen with a gash running over her left cheek, most likely from some pebbles on the ground, Luke thought, oddly entranced by the wound. Lorelai looked more like she’d had a vicious fight with a professional than anything else. A fight she’d lost completely.

Luke knew that he’d go to his grave never forgetting the way she looked lying in that damn bed.

Before the nurse had asked them to leave, he’d bent down and whispered desperately in her ear. “I love you Lorelai…wake up so I can actually say it properly…” Feeling like an idiot he added softly, “there’s coffee in it for ya.”

She hadn’t moved an inch and Luke’s heart had broken all over again. Finally, he coughed uncomfortably and offered to take Rory back to her mom’s house. To his surprise, Rory paled hearing that, but quickly explained that she didn’t want to stay in the house without her mother when she saw his expression.

“I’ll take you back to Yale then,” Luke stated and started for the door. Rory followed without objection after giving her mom a soft kiss on her forehead, and mutter something he couldn’t hear.

The drive to Yale was silent; neither of them having any energy to really launch into a conversation, nor the desire to do so. When they arrived at the famous university, Luke got out of his truck to follow Rory all the way up to her dorm, making sure she got there safely.

“Luke,” Rory smiled a small smile. “I’m perfectly capable of walking to my dorm. You don’t have to do this.”

Luke shrugged and adjusted his baseball cap awkwardly. “I want to. Let’s go, I think I still remember where to go. Your mom’s neuroses really etched the place into my…” He trailed off at the mention of Lorelai and the memory of the day they’d traveled up to the college together with all of Rory’s things was bombarding his memory, making his chest ache painfully.

“Yeah,” Rory interrupted his thoughts and continued with a loud sigh. “Well, let’s get going then. I really need to sleep a few hours before heading back to the hospital in the morning.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the building and they made their way up to Rory’s room. As they neared the door, they could hear a familiar voice rattle on inside and Rory hesitated.

Luke chuckled despite his dark mood, recognizing Paris’s voice as she was busy instructing the other two girls in the dorm just how to behave during Rory’s _difficult_ time. Rory’s matching chuckle captured Luke’s attention and he looked down.

“She means well,” Rory explained, just as there was a loud screech of, “and you can’t wear juicy sweatpants, you energizer bunny, it just screams happy and in case you haven’t noticed, this _isn’t_ a happy time!”

“I guess,” Luke replied and they heard a thundering bang as a door was slammed inside, followed by Paris’, “Fine, I’ll just remove them later!”

Rory nodded and took a deep breath before entering the dorm and she closed the door with a sad smile ‘goodbye’ to Luke, who hurried out to his truck, exhausted by the horrifying day he’d had.

Luke had returned to Lorelai’s side as quickly as possible after only managing to sleep a few hours, waking up soaked in sweat with the sound of squealing tires ringing in his ears. He spent every waking moment at the hospital, most of the time with Rory and her grandparents as well. Some of the time was shared with various friends, such as Sookie, whose hands were now bandaged thoroughly after scorching herself by an accident during one of her cooking frenzies.

Finally, he had to succumb to his body’s needs and left to go catch up on some sleep. To his dismay he still couldn’t close his eyes without seeing Lorelai’s bruised face. So eventually giving up, Luke returned to the diner and had worked in stony silence while the rest of the saddened townies watched his every move with concern. They didn’t even gossip around him these days and if he’d felt even an inch of interest, he’d have felt eerie by that unusual consequence of Lorelai’s accident.

Luke Danes hadn’t even been this shattered when his father had died and that was saying something.

A ringing phone suddenly ripped Luke out of his musings of Lorelai and he cursed loudly as he went over to the phone on the wall, twisting his foot painfully on the way.

“What?” he hissed as he rubbed his foot tenderly.

“Luke? It’s me, Rory.” He heard the girl say and instantly forgot his pain. Worry flew into his entire body at the sound of her tired voice.

“Rory? Are you okay, are you at the hospital, is she...I mean?”

“Luke calm down.” Rory interjected before he could work himself into a worried frenzy. “I’m at the hospital and…well, Mom’s awake.”

Relief flooded Luke’s senses for a moment and made him oblivious to anything else. Consequently it took him a while to realize that Rory’s voice hadn’t been joyful. In fact, it had been almost expressionless.

“Rory, what’s the matter? Is there something wrong?”

A heavy sigh that bordered more on a sob was heard as a reply and the hairs on the back of Luke’s neck stood up. The feeling of unease multiplied when Rory finally spoke after another deep, tremulous sigh.

“I think you should come down here as fast as you can. There’s something you need to know…”

**TBC…**


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorelai wakes up and Rory tells Luke...That's basically it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All remaining grammar and sentences issues are fully on me. Sorry ;) 
> 
> Also, this updating is sporadic at best - I work a lot and can't promise to find time as much as I used to. Those of you following Darcy, know that a new chapter isn't long in coming either. I'm almost through with it. 
> 
> That said, enjoy!

**Chapter Four**

The day had actually started out like every day since her mom’s accident.

Paris had once _again_ set Rory’s alarm clock to go off very – _very_ – early in the morning. Then the opinionated blonde hurricane would proceed to drag the smaller Rory out of bed and actually force her to spend at least an hour in her craft corner, torturing the brunette with gross smells of melted glue and beads. It was all in an attempt to “help” the broken-hearted daughter focus her thoughts, which was the only reason Rory hadn’t taken every item near her and thrown it violently into her weird friend’s face. After that, another hour would pass by with Paris telling her all about the best way to prepare for parental loss without losing one’s mind; at which time Rory would stomp off in frustrated fury and fear for the fate of her hospitalized mother and lock herself in her room.

And then yet _another_ hour would pass with Paris yelling through the thin wooden door that, “It never hurts to be prepared for everything!” or “Open the door right now or I’m not gonna help you focus your thoughts anymore Gilmore!” or “I’m a _very_ qualified self healer you know!”

At this point in time, Rory’s other roommate - the exercise obsessed one- would burst through her door and begin a shouting match with Paris, which would distract her long enough for Rory to slip out of the dorm unnoticed and go visit her mom before classes started.

Today was no different, Rory decided as she ducked under Paris pointed finger and ran out of the dorm before she would be asked to referee the soon to be fight. The day before hadn’t been pretty and she was in no way ready or willing to succumb to _that_ again by being too slow.

Twenty minutes later, Rory arrived at the hospital and placed herself in the extremely uncomfortable chair next to her mother’s bed.

“So, Mom,” Rory said quietly as she opened her much read Harry Potter book, “ready to find out if Ron finally puts the moves on Hermione? No? Well, in this chapter there’s a feast with tons of food descriptions, so I dare you not to wake up and drool in starvation… or the very least complain about the lack of coffee descriptors again…”

Rory held her breath hopefully, just like she always did, but it was in vain. The silence kept on and the young woman sighed sadly before determinedly reading out loud to her sleeping mother.

The tired brunette didn’t know how or even when she’d fallen asleep in that good awful chair, but somehow it had happened. She knew this because suddenly she was woken up by a not so gentle poke in her shoulder.

“What? Is visiting hours over already? Can’t I just get a few more minutes today?” Rory muttered and opened her eyes groggily. Her exhaustion instantly disappeared when she locked eyes with a matching pair of sky blue eyes.

“You’re awake,” Rory stupidly announced.

Her heart pounded a mile a minute and she was so happy that she thought she might actually burst with it.

“Thank God!” she added and without thinking, Rory threw her arms around the still silent woman and squeezed as she kept muttering,” I love you, I love you, I _love_ you!”

Then as the silence continued, becoming slightly awkward and uncomfortable, Rory let go and wiped away her happy tears and said with a small smile. “I knew you couldn’t sleep through one of Joanne’s food descriptions…”

Lorelai still didn’t say a word, nor did she crack a smile at one of their inside jokes and Rory’s heart skipped a beat in fear when she remembered one of the doctor’s warnings to her and her family about the severe head trauma her mom had suffered.

Rory swallowed. _Don’t be broken please_ , she thought as she noticed the total lack of love and warmth in her mom’s usually so kind eyes.

“Are…are you okay, Mom?” Rory asked anxiously and sat down next to Lorelai on the small bed. “Come on Mon, you’ve never gone this long without a reply…Should I call Luke and make him get you some decent coffee to wake you up?”

Rory smiled at her own attempt at lightening the mood, but her smile totally vanished when her mother lifted her chin and met her eyes with an icy stare and spoke for the first time.

“Look here girly girl, I’m having a really bad day so far, what with crazy women falling all over me, so I’m gonna make it short and easy to understand, okay?” Lorelai didn’t give Rory a chance to recover from the shock of hearing her mother’s tone and quickly continued, “My name is Lorelai Gilmore and I don’t know you – okay Crazy Girl? So please go out in the hallway and call my parents Richard and Emily Gilmore…and tell them to bring my boyfriend, Christopher Hayden. Now please get away from me, you’re scaring the bejeezus out of me.”

Rory sat unmoving on the bed and stared dumbly into her mother’s eyes and saw nothing. _That’s why she doesn’t look normal_ , Rory realized in her shocked state of mind, _she doesn’t know me…she doesn’t love me…_ ”

Lorelai and she might have bickered on rare occasions, but _never_ had Rory doubted the love her mother had for her – until now.

Suddenly, an idea came to the young woman and she straightened up a bit and asked slowly to the still glaring Lorelai “How old are you Mo…Lorelai?”

Lorelai frowned and tried to cross her arms, but stopped when a searing pain shot through her. She focused on the weird girl in front of her and debated whether or not to answer. Eventually, something in the other female’s eyes made her reply.

“What kind of question is that? I’m sixteen…Now are you gonna go away now or are you planning on making me suffer through twenty questions? I’m pretty sure stalking a patient or whatever I am right now is illegal in all the states…”

Rory’s world crumbled around her yet again and she clumsily got to her feet. “Yeah, sure… I’ll just…”she murmured before she abruptly fled the room and left the cold woman in the bed behind without another word.

Once outside the hallway Rory sank down on the floor and wept as the unfairness of it all finally hit her.

 _Mom actually wakes up and she doesn’t know me anymore… She wants Grandma and Grandpa of all people; if she gets back to her normal self I’m_ so _gonna remind of that._

Rory placed her head in her arms and tried to calm her breathing as the thoughts swirled through her mind.

 _She thinks she’s sixteen, she’s dating_ Dad _…What about Luke?_ Luke _! Of course, she loves Luke; maybe he’ll snap her out of this and I can have my mom back!_

Stumbling a little and ignoring the mix of concerned and confused looks she got as she got to her feet, Rory all but ran to the phones down the hall to call Luke.

Luke _always_ made things better.

He picked up after a long agonizing minute that felt more like hours to the distraught college girl.

“ _What_?” the growl sort of scared the youngest Gilmore and she swallowed a lump before hesitantly speaking.

““Luke? It’s me, Rory.”

His tone of voice immediately changed and he quickly asked, “Rory? Are you okay, are you at the hospital, is she…?” He didn’t seem to be able to finish his last question and Rory’s heart went out to him.

Smiling sadly, Rory realized, not for the first time, that at least she wasn’t the only one going slightly crazy without Lorelai in her life.

She quickly shook off her dark thoughts, knowing her silence would freak her mother’s loving boyfriend out more than anything. Although, now that Rory was actually in the position to break the news to him, she suddenly felt a wave of nerves because like her, she knew the news she was about to share would break the man’s heart into a million pieces.

“Luke calm down. I’m at the hospital and…well, Mom’s awake.”

Rory heard the man sigh heavily with relief, so much so that it mirrored a sob and she could almost taste his profound relief. It made her a little uncomfortable, because in her mind Luke was always a rock, a grumbling, kind-hearted rock, but a stoic rock none the less. Fortunately, his lapse in character didn’t last long and after another deep breath he seemed to get back to his usual pragmatic self

“Rory, what’s the matter? Is something wrong?”

Rory felt the barely repressed tears resurface and she sighed heavily herself. _Please let this be the way to heal my mom,_ she prayed silently before answering the worried man that was the closest thing to a real dad she had in her life.

“I think you should come as fast as possible…There’s something you need to know…”

**0o0o0**

While Rory was busy with breaking the news to Luke, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore was _not_ having the best of days.

First, she’d woken up in what seemed to be a hospital with a sleeping girl by her side. Not the concerned boyfriend, she’d rooted for by the way. Then Lorelai had decided to wake the stranger with one of her customized pokes and then the foreign girl had attacked her and called her mom!

“This is a weird dream, Lorelai!” she told herself, her shaky voice echoing in the silent room. She felt an unusual pang of guilt when she remembered the girl’s tear-filled eyes and quickly averted her mind back to her new and much more present situation.

 _Okay, so I’m in a hospital obviously…my leg is having a contest of who-is-able-to-throb-the-worst with my head, and_ none _of my family members bothered to show up…Nice to feel the love._

The last sarcastic thought made Lorelai chuckle tiredly and she tried to get more comfortable on the tiny bed.

 _Okay, detective mode here,_ Lorelai told herself inwardly, _so…I’m here and clearly I’ve suffered some kind of accident…what happened? Did Mom’s latest maid try to avenge her inevitable firing by attempting to kill off the daughter of the house?_ Lorelai’s mind conjured up a picture of the current Latina maid, Bonita shoving her down the stairs with an evil cackle.

Lorelai smiled with an eye roll at her vivid imagination. “Okay, maybe not.”

A doctor suddenly entered the room and distracted Lorelai’s ponderings as he began a thorough checkup.

He looked stressed and tired and left without that many words; actually he hadn’t said anything but hello and goodbye for now.

Lorelai sighed and unconsciously her arms tried to cross again, but the fierce pain stopped them once more. And she decided to continue her mission to find out how she’d gotten herself in this mess.

 _So Lorelai…what’s the last thing you remember_? She asked herself and bit her lip as she tried to move past that irritating fog in her mind. … _okay, I was at the house with Chris, we finished fooling around and I drove him home and then…What?_

Then the solution came to her and Lorelai laughed relieved. “D’uh,” she said, “someone drove into me…or maybe I hit a deer?”

Lorelai frowned. _Hit a deer, why would I hit a deer…stupid head and your dumb imagination._

A knock on the door interrupted her musings and she looked up to see that strange girl with the eyes filled with raw hurt enter. Behind her was a tall, muscular man.

Lorelai’s eyes wandered over him in female appreciation; noticing the scruffy unshaved look and decided that it totally worked for him, big strong hands, which looked like they were mutilating a cap at that moment. Lorelai’s eyes wandered upwards and she met his eyes and froze on the spot.

His blue-grey eyes shone with just as – if not more – hurt as the young girl. He was looking straight at her. Try as she might Lorelai couldn’t tear her gaze away from his. _He looks at me like I’m the reason he gets up in the morning,_ she dazedly thought.

Then an image of her longtime boyfriend fluttered into her mind and Lorelai blinked to break the connection to the handsome stranger. As her eyes fell on the brunette, Lorelai took on her best Emily voice to make her feelings clear.

“So did you or did you not hear me when I told you to call my _parents_? Or was that too big a task to ask of you?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lorelai saw the man flinch as though her tone physically wounded him and that weird pang of guilt came back with _a lot_ of friends.

Before she could apologize or even say a word, the young woman spoke with a resigned tone of voice

“Luke…Meet Lorelai Gilmore. She thinks she’s sixteen and dating Christopher Hayden…”

Lorelai watched with widened eyes as the tall man in front of her closed his eyes shortly and shook his head in obvious agony. The guilt heightened in her chest and she couldn’t understand why the man’s near tangible pain was affecting her so much. Did she even know him?

Then the man – Luke – softly groaned and gently placed his massive hand on the girl’s shoulder in a gentle squeeze before he spoke.

Neither of the strangers noticed the strange reaction and small flinch the hospitalized woman gave at the sound of his voice.

“I’m _so_ sorry, Rory…I’ll go call the Gilmores and…” his piercing stare flew over Lorelai briefly and he finished quietly “…and I’ll go back to the diner; just call me anytime okay? Day _or_ night.”

Then he simply turned away and left without so much as a by your leave and inexplicably, Lorelai had an insane urge to call him back, but she quickly repressed that nonsense by chanting Christopher’s name in her head over and over again.

A sound tore her out of her forced thoughts of her boyfriend and she saw the girl – Rory apparently, sink to the floor and tears poured out of her already puffy red eyes without a sound.

Lorelai had always been a caring soul and crazy or not, she couldn’t bear to see such pain on anyone. “ _Please_ don’t cry…Rory, right? …I…I’m sorry I was such a bitch all right? I think if you go out there and get a nurse to hook me up on a coffee IV, then I might just be a little more like myself again…don’t cry please.”

Rory lifted her eyes from the floor and to Lorelai’s surprise she was smiling dejectedly. “It’s funny you know, even with this hanging over our heads and all, you still manage to slip in a request for coffee. Apparently some things _never_ change.”

Lorelai returned the small smile bemusedly; she realized she kind of liked the weird girl. “Well,” she quibbled, “just don’t tell my mom. For some reason, she thinks coffee is the devil’s brew for me…something about me not needing the extra energy, she once told me.”

Rory actually grinned a bit at that and to Lorelai’s relief she picked herself off of the floor, wiping her eyes tiredly. “I don’t know about the IV,” she offered, “ but I do know where there’s a vending machine with coffee – I’ll go get us a cup, okay?”

Rory turned and left as quickly as she’d arrived. Lorelai tilted her head and watched the empty doorway for a bit. _Yep, I definitely think I could like this girl._ She decided. Then, in the next moment, her mind strayed to the man, Luke and his sorrowful eyes and she couldn’t quite stop a curse from escaping her lips when her mind decided to point out just how interesting the man looked. Even though he was pretty old.

 _What is it about that man, that won’t leave me alone?_ She wondered and sighed as she leaned her head back on her rather subpar pillow. She was exhausted all of the sudden and she closed her eyes to try and get a little rest before Rory returned with the much needed java.

**0o0o0**

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on, don't tell me any of you were surprised by this much loved cliche? As the tags say; it's really full of them :D

**Author's Note:**

> Also general disclaimer, I don't own GG or any of its related franchise. (I'd like to, so I could fix that damned sequel...)


End file.
